I tried it out on Sunday. I must say, I'm better with a sledgehammer than a hammer. Steve is better with tools in general- he has more experience. But I've held my own with a Sawzall. It's always easier to destroy something than create it in the first place.
I finally excavated the old concrete slab that we believe at some point was a landing base for back porch stairs. No longer serving that purpose, all it did for us was make the patio space less useful and give something to trip over every now and then.
Now it's been cleared and is ready for new concrete. We are just doing a patch job on the patio for now.Check out the gutter drain pipe which goes to a catch basin underneath our porch. That catch basin is kind of a mess and before we close the patio up again, we are going to excavate what is in there. Woo hoo!- looking forward to that one.
As you can see our patio needs help. Last summer, we lived with that missing strip all season. Having a complete patio will pretty much be nirvana for us.
3 comments:
Sledgehammers are great. Everyone loves them, even people who have no interest in home improvement.
Inevitably, the handle will break which will make you feel very empowered (I'm so friggin' strong that broke the sledge! YEAH!).
My favorite sledge story:
My sister was helping my mom demolish the remains of the concrete retaining wall in our backyard several years ago.
My mom's a heckler. My sister was pounding away on this one block that just wouldn't break. Mom says, "Can't you do any better than that?!" My sister takes a monsterous swing and the sledge's handle just explodes. Bits go everywhere. She looks at my mom and says, "Is that any f***ing better?" Mom was speachless.
I agree, there is something viscerally satisfying about demolition! Regarding sledge hammers, we once were at a carnival, and you know that contest where you are supposed to ring the bell at the top of the post w/a mallet? Well, the carnival worker was a very slight smallish man & he effortlessly, one handedly, rang that bell over & over...while big muscular types grunted & sweated for nothing. My husband said it was all in the technique, it had nothing to do w/muscles. Interesting to watch.
One way to take out your home improvement frustrations!
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